Do you remember a month ago when I wrote:
"The most important thing in Arizona politics this month is the work of Arizona’s Independent Redistricting Commission..."
Last night the Senate Republicans together with Governor Brewer took the "Independent" out of the AIRC.
They removed Colleen Mathis, a committed Arizona citizen who was serving as the sole independent on the commission because the maps were not to their liking.
Why is this important?
Every line drawn will affect the future of Arizona for the next 10 years.
As the national story on Morning Edition pointed out this morning, Arizona is one-third Democrats, one-third Republicans and one-third Independents. This is not reflected in the current make-up of our legislature. Currently the senate is two-thirds Republican and last night they made it clear that they want to keep it that way.
Voters passed an initiative to create this independent commission -- exactly so sitting elected officials could not gerrymander the lines. What happened last night is absolute rejection of voter will -- and it has become a witch-hunt against the woman who volunteered to stand at the helm of this complicated process.
What can we do?
1. Call the legislature and the governor. Tell them that "independent" means that the voters wanted them to stay out of the process and that you were disappointed by last night's vote. The toll free number for the legislature is 800-352-8404.
2. Get involved in this last week of the election. In Tucson and Phoenix, there are city elections currently under vicious attack by indepdendent expenditures of literally thousands of dollars -- and the candidates need our support today! Don't be surprised by the results - head over now and help out before it is too late.
3. If you can't give time, give a donation. Help Arizona List to fight for progressive candidates across the state. Help the county parities turn out the vote. Help one of the qualified candidates trying to make Arizona a better state.
Don't sit back and wonder why things went wrong, do something today in response.
Thanks for doing your part to stand up for the democratic process!
Sincerely,
Cheryl Cage
Arizona List
P.O. Box 42294 | Tucson, AZ 85733 | Ph: 520-327-0520 | Fx: 520-327-6920 | Email: info@arizonalist.org
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